“I wasn’t safe in my country, and I’m not safe here.”

Asylum seekers staying in UK emergency accommodation are living in fear following a spate of anti-refugee protests.

Members of far-right group Patriotic Alternative have in recent days joined demonstrations outside hotels in Skegness, Knowsley and Rotherham that the UK Home Office is using to host people awaiting the outcome of their asylum applications.

Patriotic Alternative denies that it led the protests in Knowsley, but one of the group’s members delivered an inflammatory speech at a meeting in Dunstable hearing local people’s concerns about the arrival of asylum seekers at a hotel in the town. Anti-racism organisation Hope Not Hate says far-right groups are targeting local communities with leaflets and social media posts packed with anti-refugee disinformation and misinformation.

Refugee rights groups say people staying in temporary accommodation are scared they will be attacked if they step outside. They warn that recent provocative statements about refugees and asylum seekers by the UK’s Home Secretary and other members of the ruling Conservative Party is giving succour to far-right groups.

In this episode of The Stream, we’ll look at what is driving anti-refugee sentiment in cities and towns across the UK and ask what is needed to protect asylum seekers from harm.

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